The whole of the material universe, no matter how extended its physical dimensions might be, is like a speck of dust before the grandeur of the world of the Spirit.

All traditions speak of the grades of being albeit in different languages and symbols, as can be seen in worlds as far apart as Hinduism and Judaism. Even Buddhism, which speaks of existence as samsara, presents to its followers, at least in the Mahayana and Vajrayana Schools, vast hierarchies of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, demons, and so forth.

 

Sufi doctrine is no exception in its emphasis upon the doctrine of the multiple states of being, which constitutes a central teaching of the perennial philosophy. The Islamic universe, based on the words of the Quran and Hadith, is comprised of immense worlds extending from the material realm to the Divine Presence.

 

Today modern science speaks of the vastness of the cosmos but only in a quantitative manner; it deals with only one level of cosmic existence, no matter how many zeros it adds to distances in galactic and interstellar space and periods of cosmic time. But the whole of the material universe, no matter how extended its physical dimensions might be, is like a speck of dust before the grandeur of the world of the Spirit.

 

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The Garden of Truth by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

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